Wednesday, May 22, 2013

I read with much
interest the direct report from the NT Hansard of your speech to the
Legislative Assembly as published in the Alice
Springs News on the 17/5/13. I was alternatively moved, saddened,
angered and perturbed by what you said to the point of where I have
felt the need to write this post on my blog. I could, of course, send
this to you directly and privately, but by posting it publicly I hope
to achieve more than just exchanged notes between two people. I hope,
like you would have through making the speech in the first place and
then agreeing to the publishing of the Hansard record in a news
publication, to raise awareness. I therefore hope that you will
recognise that my reasoning for choosing public, rather than private,
means of exchange is one that is made with the purest of intentions
and with a true dedication to progress.

I am writing to
you as an Arrernte woman, as a black feminist, and as a dyed in the
wool member of the left. I am also writing to you as someone who
lives in Melbourne (although half my life has been spent on the Stuart Highway) and whilst I am definitely not "middle
class", I am clearly urban and am an educated professional. I am
a committed trade unionist. I identify as being a "critical
thinker" rather than a "cultural relativist" (a fact
that has led to some conflict with family over the years), and the
right to self-determination is of the highest importance to me, in
all possible ways. Politically, I am not affiliated to any party at
this point in time and whilst I have held memberships to a couple of
parties over the years, I find it difficult to adhere to a party line
because generally speaking, Indigenous and Feminist politics are what
are at my core and my personal beliefs do not always align with a
Political party's vision. On the spectrum, I have described myself as
"socialist" and "anarchist" but generally
speaking, I am radical left. I wanted to put this all upfront
because in your speech you have levelled your criticism at the
left, and whilst I have first-hand experience of the left
not always getting issues related to gender or race correct, I feel
that your criticism of the left is somewhat misplaced and erroneous
and I hope that I can show you why I feel this is the case. At the
end of the day I believe in striving for an egalitarian society and I don't
believe the ability to buy into what are essentially corrupt
practices of a coloniser society, whether this is "celebrating"
Aboriginal
women's beauty, or whether this is the ability to exploit people
and land to achieve material wealth, is the way forward.

Additionally, in
the interest of openness I will state that we have made acquaintance
before, although not actually met. We
were both on that fateful episode of Insight. I saw you looking
at me prior to the show and felt that you may have recognised me
through my family, although I could be wrong. My family is known to
you regardless, as you are a resident of Alice Springs. You know many
members of my family and of course are aware that there are streets,
natural features and hostels named after members of my family in the
centre. In that forum, I accused you of "social Darwinism"
as I felt, very strongly, that your opinions stated within that forum
reflected those principles. Additionally, as you do reside in the
Alice and are therefore profiteering off the displacement of the
Arrernte through murder, removal policies leading to the Stolen
Generation, and numerous other practices, I felt that your opinions
showed a neglect of the significance of those facts and how they may
shape the identity of those around you. That comment barely made it
to screen; I was almost inaudible and really only our reactions to it
were clear. I don't take that comment back, incidentally, for I still
feel it was true. You made it clear in that forum that your claim to
Aboriginality is stronger than those of us who are of mixed decent
because you are "full blood" and you know language, culture
and song, yet you are living on lands of acknowledged "frontier
battles" and could not acknowledge that some may not have had
that same access to culture because these things occurred on their
lands. Culture is not a static entity. It has never been
pre-or-post-colonisation, and I believe that shared
historical experience is as valid a cultural element as anything
else.

Speaking of
culture, as stated, I identify as a critical thinker rather than a "cultural relativist". This
very fact has made for some rather "interesting"
conversations over the years. To give a small example, I have had arguments with people when I have felt those people have
idealised gender roles in traditional society. I
don't necessarily believe that gender equivalence equals gender
equality and whilst indeed we are a culture that celebrates strong
women who have authority, there are enough well-known cultural
markers (for example, marriage rites) to indicate that "equality" may not be a completely
accurate description in most tribal circumstances. Hell, we are the most studied people in the world, or close to, and even those with little knowledge are able to crack open a book and read passages that have been written, including ones from Marcia Langton, detailing patriarchal practices within desert cultures. Also, having set
roles in a society based on gender has rarely been consistent with
"equality" anywhere in the world. This is one of the many
reasons of why I am so for the concept of "self-determination";
we must have the ability to critically examine ALL culture and assert
our identity, both as Aboriginal people and as women, in order to
move society forward as a strong and healthy unit. I argue that through having to continually
defend ourselves in the face of colonisation and gender inequality,
individually and structurally, we are currently denied that right of self-determination and are therefore diminished in our ability to re-imagine society, social structures, legal systems
etc in ways that are inclusive and owned by us. Long story short:
I question and will always do so. I don't believe everything I was
told and I certainly will not forgive what are transgressions of
basic human rights when arguments of cultural practice are used. It
is completely possible to practice culture and respect culture whilst
questioning elements of it and pushing for change, in my opinion.

Here's where I
get to the nitty-gritty of this open letter: despite my clear left-wing views, I do not stand for the abuse and
murder of our women as you assert that the left does. The cases you mention are shocking, and the fact
that there may never be justice AND that people stood by and watched
it happen sickens me to the core. It reminds me of cases a few years
back that reached the mainstream media across the country involving
rapes
and bashings of girls being hidden or legally glossed under the cultural guise of
"promised marriage". This should NEVER have been allowed to happen and the fact that so many stood back; for years in one of the cases; and allowed it to just is incomprehensible. I know that because these cases were so
outrageous; due to the age of the victims, the brutality of the
crimes, and the amount of people who turned a blind eye to it all;
that this is why they made the mainstream media on the East Coast. I
also know from my broader knowledge of women's rights that for every
one case that does make the media there are countless others that do
not; because the crimes go unreported; because the victim is not
quite so young; because they were not quite so brutalised by the
perpetrator; because the community was not so blatantly aware.
Unfortunately the situation does not always seem to get a whole lot better
for those Aboriginal women who live in the cities and have a number
of support mechanisms at their disposal that they try to call on, as
the case of Andrea
Pickett shows us. The system, the media, the communities and the
ignorance of the greater Australian community continually fail our
women. That is why this has never, and will never be a simple
left-right divide for me. This is sexism, compounded by racism, and
the suffering it causes is unacceptable.

You state in your
address that "Dr Jarrett is saying there are elements to our
traditional culture that we must change if we are to stop the
violence that is destroying us" and that you agree with this
summation. I remain
a huge proponent of self-determination and I believe that a core part
of that is the ability to proudly engage in, and celebrate culture in
ways that reinforce one's identity and sense of pride. This includes acknowledging systematic oppression and how this contributes to situations and issues in our communities because it is, most certainly, a factor. I don't
believe that this ever means glossing over culture and failing to
cast a critical eye upon those practices that need to be examined
from a basic human rights perspective. Indeed, I think that to fail to examine all culture would run contrary to the goals of self-determination. What I do find difficult to
stomach though are the additional arguments supplied by Jarrett whereby
an apparent answer lies in the ability to have a greater ability to
share in mainstream Australia and assimilate, to an extent. I state
this as one who lives in mainstream Australia and who experiences it
every day as an Arrernte woman. Mainstream Australia is not free from
sexism and it most certainly is not free from racism, therefore it
really cannot guarantee a better life for those that access it.

Whilst you're
fighting to stop violence against women on communities, the trade
union I work for is currently trying to get domestic violence clauses
into collective agreements in universities in acknowledgement of the
approximately 1/3
of the women who work in the sector and will experience domestic violence. These clauses will, of course, cover the approximately 700 Aboriginal women (including some who live in remote communities) that work in the sector and who are, it is estimated, twice as likely as their non-Aboriginal colleagues to experience violence. It will also cover the approximately 450 Aboriginal men in the sector who are also significantly more likely to experience violence than their non-Aboriginal colleagues. Domestic violence is considered a workplace issue now because, far from being something that simply happens in the privacy of a home, or publicly in an isolated community, it effects a victim's ability to participate in everyday life, and that includes holding down a job. It makes sense that women who have their own income and who are empowered by being in a supportive environment are more likely to be able to take action and leave a situation of domestic violence than those that are not independent and are not being supported. The left may be going about it in ways that are different to ways you would pursue the issue but they are certainly not ignoring it.

Whilst
you're noting that community members stood around and watched a young
mother be brutally murdered in a town camp, on the streets of
Melbourne since the 1970s women have marched to change deeply
embedded social attitudes dictating that women ask to be attacked if
they walk around by themselves late at night, if they dress certain
ways or if they act in certain ways. It is not as blatant as people
watching it happen before their eyes and doing nothing (or even, on occasion, joining in) but through
the reinforcement of certain attitudes, society, rather than
re-educating itself and changing the message, allows these acts
against of violence against women to continue. We saw this play out
in Melbourne most recently in the case of Jill Meagher who, whilst
she was afforded a great deal of coverage in the media which the
women you mention were utterly denied down here, was being questioned
as to why she was out late that night, why was she drinking, why had
she walked home alone? The media, and many members of society, rarely seemed to ask question of why would a man ever feel he has the right to deny a woman of her civil liberties. Simply put, when it comes to the nuts and
bolts of it all, society does not believe that a woman has a right to
participate fully within it and not suffer repercussions for her
actions. Actions men take for granted are the very same things that bring women into question. If she is attacked it will be her fault. Whether they're
standing around watching it, or they are questioning a victim's
actions in the media, society, such as it may be, is approving the
perpetuation of violence against women and allowing it to continue.
Assimilation will not solve it, only shift how it is publicly reacted
to and perhaps lessen the tallies a little. Much more radical solutions are needed in my opinion.

You state that
“Convictions usually lead to light sentences. I was told by a
senior lawyer that no jury in Alice Springs will convict an
Aboriginal person for murder if the victim is also Aboriginal and he
or she is only stabbed once”. As I've already highlighted through
the case of Andrea Pickett, whilst this may well be the case in Alice, being
in a more urban setting won't always protect the victim either. On a
broader social sense though, as mentioned, women who are victims of violence
rarely pursue it through the avenues available to them. This is because the legal system and society
continually fails them. Sentences are often a joke, conviction rates are low and women are
rarely believed. If they do decide to pursue, for example, a claim
of domestic violence or rape through the justice system they can
expect that their lives and how they conduct themselves will be
placed under a microscope. If they are unlucky enough to be attacked
by a public figure, for example a top football player, they will also
receive trial by the media and by the general public. A lot of women
therefore will never come forward. It
is well documented that Aboriginal women are significantly more
likely to be victims of intimate partner violence, of sexual
violence and of homicide and this of course requires specific
programmes targeting communities and then tailor-made in collaboration with those
communities based on their specific requirements. Targeting domestic
violence against Aboriginal women in Melbourne from Aboriginal
perpetrators of course requires a different approach to targeting it
in Mutitjulu. All these need measures that are again specific from
mainstream approaches. Measures that examine how culture, poverty,
history and substance abuse can be contributing factors to the unique
ways that violence can manifest within our communities in all their different forms (urban, rural, remote). Here's the thing
though: our Aboriginal women in the cities with access to what you
deem is a fairer system are still presenting to Aboriginal Health
Organisations with injuries, they are still ending up in refuge
hostels trying to escape violence and they still cannot guarantee
that if they pursue the matter it will be dealt with fairly in a
legal system that is dominated by white males and based upon laws
from another country. White women cannot be guaranteed that they will
be dealt with fairly so what real chance does a black woman have at this point in time?

This is the crux
of it all for me: are we actually looking to just lessen the impacts
and numbers of victims here or do we wish these issues to be
eradicated? We may lessen impacts by drawing on tactics of the
left-right divide to suit our own purposes but if you ask me, we need
to transgress this. Culture needs to be examined and parts that state
that women are of lesser value and

men have little
control over their actions need to be tossed out. Parts that
state that Aboriginal people are of lesser worth and that their social problems
cannot be examined need to also be tossed out. I do not agree, being
of the left, with top down approaches such as the ones you praise
when you talk of the braveness of Macklin, because I believe that
these just end up replacing one form of abuse with another. You cannot empower a
community to positively address these serious issues by further
disempowering them and removing their agency. This is amplified by
the fact that the very powers imposing these measures have not been
successful in eradicating similar issues within the mainstream. I am
for collaboration and those that wish to take a stand and improve
situations being given the tools and the power to do so. You state
that “For the left and for many Aboriginal politicians on the
national stage, it seemed the only issues worth talking about were
the Stolen Generations and Aboriginal deaths in custody”. I'm here
to say that this is not the case. I am Arrernte, I am a feminist and
I am most definitely of the left and I want better for our women. I
personally can name a number of Aboriginal women and men who are also
of the left and who want the same. I can
additionally name a number of non-Indigenous members of the left who echo this. There are many of us who would stand
up and assist in this goal.

But here's the
thing: whilst you continue to deny my existence as an Aboriginal
woman and the right of myself and my family, as well as many other
Aboriginal families to claim our heritage and history, and whilst you
continue to deny that my family, and thousands across the country
have been subjected to years of government policies and procedures
and you assert that we therefore are not “true blackfellas”, we
cannot stand side-by-side in your cause. We are rendered unable to
share information because you, with your unique experience of remote
communities and culture, are blocked to our experiences from
elsewhere and how these may be linked. You deny us the ability to
speak of violence in these communities in our own ways because you
deem us as having no right due to where we live or what other
heritage we may have. I don't want this to be the case but feel that
after seeing you reported so many times in the media as well as
witnessing it first-hand in a TV studio that you are not particularly
interested in what I, and what others like me, may have to say on the
topic. If this is not the case then I would be very interested in
opening a dialogue with you and seeing how a bit of side-by-side
activism could contribute to the combating of these issues and making
a better world for our women. I believe that you possess a passion for change and a great deal of knowledge that can definitely assist in the goal of eradicating these issues of violence. I look forward to your response should you deem a response appropriate.

About Me

Arrernte, feminist, hard left, trade unionist, with a taste for protopunk.
.
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